I've got this old compass that was in a bunch of reloading stuff from estate sales that I've been sorting through slowly for the last year. I've never personally seen a compass with a needle lock on the side like this thing does.

I've done some good one and ain't found a lot yet but it's been on the back burner just curious if anybody has much knowledge of something like this maybe a value?

That lets you lock the needle away from the center pivot so you don’t get excessive wear of the needle or the pivot.

Don't know anything about it.
Buy it's pretty dang cool.

So you're basically "turning off" the compass until you need it.

must'a been before he moved to Deadwood...

Correct, I've got several like that.

you got several like this compass or you've got several models that turns the needle off so to say?

Yes, such protects the bearing and is a common feature among better units. I don't see an obvious declination adjustment though, so one should keep that aspect in mind if it's put to significant navigation use.

I love the replies and information from everybody. anybody got a guess if this thing actually has a value as an antique? and even what the value could be just curious cuz the things kind of fascinating to me for some reason LOL

Cool, question, what would a compass read in the north pole?

The direction to "magnetic north".

It would just spin and spin and make Curly Howard noises.


Sheesh

Yes. If over magnetic north/south it should spin

Does it still point north?

Obvious declination needle and adjustment in the second and third photos.

Oh a wise guy, eh?

Yes sir, I've got several different models and I believe that exact one as well. I went nuts during covid and started looking for oddball compasses and pocket watches.

Quite common compass, when compasses were all you had for determining directions. I have one just like yours, and use it every year for hunting.
The lock lever kept the needle from moving and being damaged when carried in ones pocket.

I have tied to my PFD.

Personal flotation device?

yes

I have been as far north as 73 deg 140 nm north of Barrow looking for open water in pack ice...a best quality high dollar compass by Sperry on the tug, didn't spin but it never settled. The damping adjustment is useless. How the old whalers found their way in ice fog is a mystery, but a lot of arctic whalers died before their threescore and ten.

Nice old compass that would look nice in a hunting pack. I own 2 military OD green map compasses that I keep in my hunting backpack. I hunted way before GPS technology. One I bought and the other was in a military pack I bought at my favorite pawnshop. Good to have old gear in case of nuclear blasts that would wipe out satellites and tech devices.

Same here. Im only in my 40's but I was raised old school and was poor. I have a GPS but I trust my military compass and topo maps way more. Im trying to teach my kids how read stars, find north using the sun, stick and watch, use sun dials etc.

Barrow is hundreds of miles away from magnetic north.


Seems magnetic north/south are constantly wandering about.



A few years back declination at my locale was 16° and now it's about 13.

While clock error was certainly an issue in the times of early exploration, declination shift may have also been a cause for islands etc depicted on early maps failing to show up when travelers came through years later.

Interesting stuff.

Yes, I'm quite aware of the approximate location of mag north...my point was that mag compasses become unreliable at around 70 deg N and are useless at 80 deg N and higher. As a matter of fact, don't ask me why, standard gyro compasses must be checked frequently. This was all before GPS, and Loran was less than accurate up there. Anyway, in 1973 when we were foundering around up there relying on RDF fixes the magpole was right near Bathurst Island Canada...now it has left Canada and is about half way to Siberia...it was moving toward Siberia at an astonishing 25 miles a year.